


Selfish

by Anonymous



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Comfort, Deception, Loneliness, Regret, Rejection, Secrets, Some angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-23
Updated: 2021-02-23
Packaged: 2021-03-13 08:42:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,661
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29648724
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: Ginny had alienated herself from everyonr in the past year. She didn't want them to know. Hell, she barely wanted to be alive.________________________________________________Written for the Taglline Movie Fest! Apocalypse (because I like to be tortured lol)Tagline: "Sex. Clothes. Popularity. Is there a problem here?" (Clueless)Trope: Love TriangleCharacters: Ginny Weasley, Ernie Macmillian, and Remus Lupin
Relationships: Ernie Macmillan/Ginny Weasley
Comments: 20
Kudos: 14
Collections: Tag(line) You're It! Competition





	Selfish

**Author's Note:**

  * In response to a prompt by Anonymous in the [Tagline_Youre_It_Comp_2020](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/Tagline_Youre_It_Comp_2020) collection. 



> Ginny had alienated herself from everyonr in the past year. She didn't want them to know. Hell, she barely wanted to be alive.  
> ________________________________________________  
> Written for the Taglline Movie Fest! Apocalypse (because I like to be tortured lol)  
> Tagline: "Sex. Clothes. Popularity. Is there a problem here?" (Clueless)  
> Trope: Love Triangle  
> Characters: Ginny Weasley, Ernie Macmillian, and Remus Lupin

Ginny had become a member of the HollyHead Harpies because of her love of Quidditch. Somehow, she hadn’t thought about the fame that would have come with it. It had been manageable, for a time. When the time came that she could no longer stomach the spotlight, she had cut her days with the sport short —just four years after joining the team.

Quidditch wasn’t completely out of her life, however. She still had a love for the sport, and it made for an easy transition to write for the sports column with the Daily Prophet. It allowed her to stick close to the game while also valuing her privacy. Office hours weren’t necessary and she could work from anywhere. So long as her pieces were on time, her boss allowed her to fly the coop.

“What are you still doing here?”

Ginny blinked. She turned her gaze to the clock on her desk before addressing the voice. It was nearly eleven pm.

“Damn, I’m so late!” she swore. Ginny had several rolls of parchment on her desk, a quill with dried ink having rolled away when it slipped from her fingers unawares. How long had she been asleep? Had she even slept? Maybe she had entered a fugue state and had become lost as she so often did.

“Ginny, calm down!” Her friend Lena attempted to still the redhead’s hands that were wildly gathering her parchment and stuffing them into her rucksack on the floor. She ended up grabbing her wrists as Ginny attempted to cover her ink, and the witch finally paused. “Take a deep breath.”

Ginny did as she was told. Her chest felt tight and heavy, and her inhale didn’t get very far. She ended up coughing before taking a better breath and swallowing. She was embarrassed and pushed her hair behind her ears once her hands were released.

“Sorry.”

“You’re fine,” Lena gently smiled. It faltered slightly as she watched Ginny, calmly, tidy her things. “Are you getting rest?”

_Rest._

No, that was something that had been escaping her as of late. She did her best to limit her circle when she was like this. Stay home. Go out when her fit was over. Her plan today had been to head into the office for a bit and then head home quickly after. Obviously, Ginny had underestimated how tired she truly was.

“I’ll get some as soon as a I get home,” Ginny promised. She grinned for good measure, but Lena couldn’t hide her concern, so Ginny dropped her attempt at normalcy and slipped on her coat. Time wasn’t waiting for her, and she needed to leave.

* * *

Ginny chose to apparate home with the hope that the morphing of her body through space would wake her up. It did no such thing. She was beyond the point of rest, and as soon as she closed the door behind her she let her knees buckle and her legs collapse under her.

“Ginny!”

The horror of hearing _this_ particular voice did more to jolt her to reality than any other method than she thought possible. She felt a pair of arms grab her by the shoulders and give her a light shake. In the process, Ginny could see one of several clocks that were hung throughout her house, and her terror only intensified.

“Ernie, get off!” she shouted as she fought him. She pushed hard against his chest, and the force toppled him onto his bum.

“What the hell, Ginny? I was just trying to help you!”

“I don’t need your help,” Ginny huffed. Two minutes, nearly three had ticked by.

“No, of course you don’t,” Ernie scoffed. He continued to sit on the floor, one leg raised and an arm resting on his knee as he watched the witch pick herself up from the floor. She looked as haggard as he felt, and a deep-seated fit of rage, pity, and regret filled him. “You’ve made sure to push everyone in your life away from you.”

Ginny’s eyes flashed like lightening. “Clearly, I haven’t done that well enough because _you’re_ still here. What are you even doing here?”

“Waiting for you.”

Ginny’s eyes softened and then closed of their own accord. By the time she reopened them, Ernie had gotten to his feet and he was standing in front of her now. His stature had obscured the clock, and against her better judgement, Ginny chose to ignore the ticks that loudly deafened the silence. He wasn't her boyfriend anymore, but often tried to be. Sometimes she wished that she could let him.

“I just want to help,” Ernie said softly. Ginny chuckled, and she affectionately let her hand settle onto his cheek. It was tender how he leaned into it. Sad too.

“You really want to help me?” she whispered, her voice equal parts exhausted, equal parts grateful, and equal parts burdened. Ginny took this moment of weakness and rose on her tiptoes to kiss Ernie on the forehead. She felt an ache in her chest when she saw relief spread across his face. Only monsters could crush hearts so easily.

“If you want to help me, you’ll get out.”

Ginny dropped her hand and walked around Ernie. The clock was in full view again, and her heart hammered. She had about a half an hour left. Time was winding down and if Ernie wasn’t going to leave on his own, she would have to make him.

“For Merlin’s sake, stop pulling away from me!” Ernie yelled. He grabbed Ginny by the arm and yanked her into him. Her gaze was murderous, but he was through being nice. He, too, was aware of the time, and had very few moments left to speak. Although, even if he had more time, he didn’t think it would be enough to properly convey what he wanted to.

With a deep sigh, Ernie released her. He left a soft chuckle escape his lips as he shook his head and took a step back from her. “Even after all this time you’re still selfish.”

Ginny’s mouth flopped open. “I… I _what?_ Ernie, where is this even coming from?”

“It doesn’t matter,” he frowned. “At Hogwarts you had such tunnel vision that all you could see was Harry. After the war you saw me, yes, and you were with me, yes, but that wasn't enough. The HollyHead Harpies and fame made you worse. Sex, clothes, popularity. Is a problem here?” Ernie gave a full laugh this time and eyed the time just above Ginny’s head. “Even now without the team all you do is work. Do you care about anyone or anything other than yourself?”

“Do you?” Ginny countered. “Last I checked you weren’t the only person I’ve cut out of my life.”

“Am I interrupting something?”

Both Ginny and Ernie turned to the late-night visitor, and while Ginny wasn’t surprised, Ernie certainly was.

“Remus,” Ernie greeted with a slight nod of the head. “To answer your question, no. I was just leaving.”

Ginny watched Ernie turn on his heel and leave via the front door. She was feeling more than tired now. Now, she was feeling ill. It wouldn’t be long before she would fall to the floor and succumb to her torment. Remus, fully abreast of the situation, went over to her and scooped her up into his arms.

“You should already be downstairs,” he scolded as he carried her through the home.

“Late night at work,” Ginny breathed into his chest. “And then Ernie…”

“He’s not one to give up, is he?” Remus gently prodded. Ginny shook her head. She was being carried down to her basement where he had spent a great deal making it safe. He entered the single cell that was housed there and set Ginny on the floor. Chains and shackles were ready to be used, and Remus latched a shackle onto each wrist before sealing the cell door.

“Have you been practicing your breathing?”

“Yes.”

“Do it now.”

Ginny’s chest inflated as the air circulated her lungs. The tightness was still there, but this time she pushed though. Breathing was supposed to help relax the pain away, but to her she thought it was just a bunch of bollocks. She still awaited the pushing and pulling of her bones, the agony of them rubbing against each other, the ripping of her skin... She had been going through this misery for almost a year, but she would never get used to it. What she _did_ , however, grow accustomed to, was Remus' other methods of calming her. It was a finger gliding across her cheek, followed by his whole hand travelling down her neck. So tender, so caring, it made Ginny forget that she was worthy of affection. Monsters needed love too.

"I have to get ready," Remus said softly. Ginny nearly whimpered, but it came out like a howl, and Remus could do nothing but smile before planting a soft kiss to her forehead. He left her then to reach the other side of the cell where another set of chains and shackles lay. They were for others' protection, not their own, for they were long enough that the pair could reach other when the metamorphosis occurred. And when flesh melted away, Ginny's memories of human life disappeared just the same.

Although, Ginny still remembered the warmth of Remus' hand.

* * *

Ernie could hear her. Her howls could have passed for that of a dog, but he knew otherwise. She thought that he wouldn’t understand, but he knew well enough. Had she only paid more attention, she would have known to draw near to him instead of pushing him away like she did everyone else in her life. That was his mistake. He assumed that doing what he did would have made a difference.

Ernie groaned and felt his body contract. In his sudden jolt of pain he only had one clear thought.

 _Biting her was a waste_.


End file.
